What does the term "hero" mean to you? Or, rather, who do you think of when you hear the word?
You may think of firefighters, police officers, or folks who rescue abused animals. Yes, those folks are all heroes and deserve all of our respect and praise.
Some of the biggest heroes out there, though, are our very own grandparents. Throughout their lives, they went through so much, as times were tough in many different ways than they are today.
Our grandparents are some of the most amazing people out there. Some of them are real life superheroes, sacrificing everything to take care of their families and give their children better lives, or even risking their lives to save their fellow soldiers on enemy lines.
These 13 stories from grandparents are 100 times better than anything you'll ever read in a comic book. Did your parent or grandparent ever do anything so incredible that you couldn't see them as anything else but a superhero?
Please SHARE with your family and friends on Facebook to see what kinds of stories they have!
Thumbnail source: Flickr
1.
"My granddad stormed the beaches on D-Day and participated in the liberation of Bergen-Belsen whilst wooing my gran with beautifully written love letters when he was 19. By that point, he had already been in the army for 4 years because he lied about his age to join up. When I was 15, I don't think I was even at the unassisted nose-wiping stage." – Slartibartfurious
2.
"He once crashed a tractor into a ditch, got off it, went to the front, lifted it up, and put it back on the road and got back on." – Magnehtic
3.
"My grandmother worked as a telephone operator and single-handedly raised five children after my grandfather died of emphysema. (My mom was 12.) Oh, and she didn't drive or have a high school diploma." – jpot01370
4.
"My great-grandfather did 10 pull-ups at his 90th birthday party because my grandpa was teasing him about getting old. He also shook the hands of at least 45 people and addressed them by first and last name. He was the president of Pennsylvania Electric for awhile and still was one of the most humble men I had ever met." – redditsoma
5.
"My grandmother sent her two sons to America from Cuba in 1962 to save them from the perils that were sure to come, in the hopes that it would all be over soon and her sons would be able to return home. For years, she worked tirelessly to get an exit visa. She succeeded only to be denied at the airport multiple times. She had polio through all of this. She finally got a visa to get out through Mexico, where she had to have emergency surgery there that would leave her confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life. She finally made it to America after giving up everything to be with her sons again." – Grace
6.
"My grandparents hid a Jewish family in Holland during WWII. Nazis came to their house and asked him where the family was that he was hiding. He somehow managed to convince them that he wasn't hiding anyone, and they left." – make_em_say
7.
"I think it's pretty amazing that my dad's parents were foster parents from the 1960s to the early 1990s, and adopted three of the boys they were foster parents for." – DaneLimmish
8.
"Saved a German soldier from being executed by his commanding officer. They kept in close contact for close to 40 years." – titty_twister_9000
9.
"Grandma's husband passed away very suddenly in the early '60s and she took care of her toddlers and her elderly parents, went back to college, got her degrees to find a job. She felt horrible that her daughters wouldn't have the vacations and toys they wanted, but they were safe, happy and well fed. She passed away this year and her last thing was to keep making sure we were using her money for her treatment. She never took someone else's money in her life and she wouldn't now." – Strangeandweird
10.
"Risked their lives to steal bread from the German troops during WWII to give to the starving people of their city." – marikaga
11.
"Grandma beat Stage 4 cancer. Twice. It was Stage 4 cancer of unknown origins, affecting the lungs/lymph nodes and twice it came, and twice she went into remission." – Keep-reefer-illegal
12.
"My grandfather was fighting in North Africa during WWII. He was imprisoned, escaped, hot wired a German vehicle, drove back into where the POWs were, and rescued his compatriots." – FinniganTheDog
13.
"My grandfather refused a Purple Heart for a head injury he received in a shootout because he knew that others were injured far, far worse than he." — Grace
What have your parents or grandparents done that make them true heroes? Please SHARE with your family and friends on Facebook!
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.